The Wauneta-Palisade Lady Broncos finished the RPAC tournament in fourth place after losses to Dundy County-Stratton (16-1) and Southern Valley (12-8).

Semifinal loss to DCS

The action was hot and heavy in the opening minutes against the Tigers.

WP failed to score on the opening possession of the game, but the teams scored on the next five straight possessions. Abbie Fanning returned to action and scored a layup to answer the Tigers’ first basket. After another bucket by DCS, the Broncos used great ball movement from Fanning to Brooklyn Nordhausen to Tailor Lee for two points. DCS would score once more to make the score 6-4.

Sydnee Harchelroad gave WP its first lead with a three pointer, but a bucket by the Tigers and later, a free throw put DCS up 9-7. WP crashed the boards as time wound down in the first quarter and used putbacks by Lee and Nordhausen to lead 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.

DCS opened the second quarter with a basket to tie the game. WP continued to rebound hard and Harchelroad added a putback which DCS answered with a basket of its own.

Brianna Einspahr started a 6-0 WP run with two free throws after being fouled while rebounding. The run continued when Lee found Nordausen open for a basket and Harchelroad found Lee open for a basket.

After a bucket by DCS, a free throw by Lee put WP ahead 20-15.

DCS responded, outscoring the Broncos 7-2 over the final three-minutes of the half and tying the game at 22.

WP got on the board first in the second half with a free throw by Harchelroad. Following a DCS basket, Lee kept WP in the lead with a bucket of her own.

After another Tigers’ basket fouls started to accumulate for WP. The Broncos had 10 first half fouls, compared to four for DCS, and Lee picked up her fourth foul with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

DCS hit both free throws and following one free throw by Nordhausen, DCS went to the line and made two more free throws.

With WP trailing 26-30, Harchelroad picked up her fourth foul with four minutes left in the third quarter.

A putback by Nordhausen kept the score close, but DCS went back to the charity stripe and made one-of-two free throws.

DCS scored five more points before WP stopped the run with a Rathe basket off an assist from Nordhausen.

Fanning answered a DCS basket with two free throws and Leiauna Alberts cut the DCS lead to 32-38 with a steal and layup.

The Tigers finished the quarter with a two-pointer and then a three-pointer with one second left to lead 43-34 heading into the final stanza.

DCS opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run, including a free throw on Lee’s fifth foul with 6:29 remaining.

WP used its own 9-0 run with a Harchelroad three-pointer with an assist from Einspahr, then an Einspahr three-pointer with an assist from Harchelroad. Harchelroad’s conventional three-point play made the score 43-51.

Following one made free throw by DCS, WP continued to nibble into the Tigers’ lead with two free throws by Einspahr. After one more free throw by DCS, a basket by Rathe cut the lead to six and a basket by Harchelroad following another DCS free throw cut the lead to five, 49-54, with 2:15 remaining.

DCS, however, finished the game with a 9-0 run to win 63-49.

Harchelroad led WP with 16 points.

Play for third place game

Despite the loss, WP travelled to Southern Valley Saturday to play Southern Valley in the consolation game.

Though SV scored first in the contest, WP led through the rest of the first quarter and held a 14-9 lead after the first eight minutes.

WP got two free throws from Nordhausen, layups by Harchroad and Lee, two baskets by Nordhausen, a putback by Lee and a layup by Fanning.

SV’s baskets were a sign of things to come as the Eagles hit two deep two-pointers and a three pointer.

Following a Lee free throw to start the second quarter, SV scored seven straight points to take a 16-15 lead.

A Nordhausen free throw and Nicole Strand bucket around two SV free throws tied the score at 18.

Strand went on to make two more baskets to keep WP within one, 22-23. Lee gave WP the lead, but SV made four staight points before a three-pointer by Fanning tied the game at 27.

SV added two more baskets, but a putback by Rathe with five seconds left in the half made the score 29-31 at halftime.

Unfortunately, the WP offense ran out of gas in the second half. The Broncos only scored five points in the third quarter. After tying the game at 31 on a basket by Nordhausen and at 33 on a basket by Lee, WP went scoreless for nearly five minutes until a Fanning three-pointer. WP was still within two, 36-38, after the shot, but trailed 36-43 heading into the fourth quarter.

WP could only score two points, a basket by Fanning, in the fourth quarter and ended up losing 38-53.